Machine for expelling tobacco from molds



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. W. P. MAYO. MACHINE FOR EXPELLING TOBAGUO PROM HOLDS.

Patented Oct. 22, 1895 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. P. MAYO. MACHINE FOB EXPELLING TOBACCO FROM MOLDS.

No. 548,569. Patented Oct. 22; 1895.

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UNITED STATES WILLIAM P. MAYO, OF

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RIOHMON D, VIRGINIA.

MACHINE F-OR EXPELLING TOBACCO FROM MOLDS.

SBECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,569, dated October 22, 1895. Application filed October 20, 1893. Serial No. 488,719. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. MAYO, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Expelling Plug-Tobacco from Molds; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a machine for expelling plugs of tobacco from the molds in which they are formed; and the main object of the invention is to provide a machine by which all of the plugs in a mold can be expelled at one operation.

Another object of the invention is to prevent tearing, breaking, or chipping the wrappers of the plugs while removing them from the mold.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the combination of devices and in the construction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation, partially broken away, of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view of the mold-frame andthe cross-head carrying the long and short plungers adapted to enter said mold-frame and expel the plugs therefrom.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings, referring to which- A designates the main supporting frame or base of my improved machine. As shown in the drawings, the frame A, which may be of any desired size and form, is preferably composed of two parallel members or side sections, which are connected and braced by transverse braces B, and in order. that the machine may be easily moved from place to place said frame is mounted on casters or small wheels C.

To opposite sides of frame A are bolted or otherwise rigidly attached parallel upwardlyextending standards or guides D, and in suitable ways or slots formed in said guides are fitted the ends of a vertically-movable pressore-head E. In some cases I may cast one of the guides D with each of the side sections of the frame A.

To the ends of the head E are connected the upper ends of links F, and the lower ends of said links are in turn connected with cranks F, secured on a horizontal power-shaft G, which is journaled in suitable bearings in the sides of the frame A. The shaft G is designed to be rocked in its bearings by any suitable mechanism to cause the pressure-head to descend and force a series of plungers or blocks H carried thereby into the cells of a mold I, supported on the frame A, and force therefrom the plugs of tobacco.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings I employ a lever K to rock the shaft G. This lever is fulcrumed at an intermediate point of its length to the rockshaft, and is provided at its upper end with a suitable handle. To counterbalance the weight of the pressure-head and plungers carried thereby, I preferably employ Weights L, one of which is secured on the lever K on the opposite side of its fulcrum from the handle, and the other weight is secured on an arm M, attached to the shaft G near the opposite end thereof from the operating-lever K. The weightsL are adjustably connected to the lever K and arm M, preferably by means of setscrews, as shown, in order that pressure-heads of difierent weights may be employed and the number of plungers changed according to the size, due of the mold I that is to be placed in the machine.

The plunger-s II, by which the plugs of tobacco are expelled from the cells or compartments of the mold I, are firmly secured to a back plate N, which is detachably connected by any suitable means to the pressure-head E, and said plungers correspond in number and relative arrangement with the cells or compartments of the mold. The plungers are made of such size in cross-section as to pass freely into the cells of the mold when the pressure-head is forced down. In case the plungers are made of wood the lower ends thereof may be faced with and protected by metallic plates N, and, as shown, the plungers which are arranged in the central portion of the pressure-head are preferably made somewhat shorter than those situated nearer the sides of the head E, in order that they may they enable me to reduce by one-half the power necessary to operate the machine in expelling the plugs of tobacco from a filled mold-fram e. It will readily be seen that when the pressure-head is forced downward the long plungers will first enter their corresponding cells or compartments of the mold-frame and operate on the plugs therein to expel the same, and then as the pressure-head is further forced down. the short plungers operate upon the plugs of tobacco in their cells and likewise expel them, whereby the plungers act successively upon the plugs of the filled moldframe to expel the same, and thus the power required to expel the plugs can be materially reduced.

The mold I to be operated on is supported on parallel strips 0, secured on the frame A between the guides D. The strips 0 are adjustably connected to the upper end of the frame or base A, in order that they may be adjusted laterally of said frame to enable molds of different widths to be supported thereby. Said strips are provided in their inner faces with aligned Ways desi nedto receive the side bars of the mold, and they may be attached to the frame A by means of bolts, which extend through suitable slots in the frame and are held stationary at any desired point therein by nuts or other fastening means, or the strips may be attached to the frame A by any suitable means that will permit of their adjustment toward or from each other for the purpose described.

In parallel ways or grooves formed in the inner faces of the sides of the frame A below the mold-supporting strips 0 is fitted a slab or plate P, on which the plugs of tobacco expelled from the mold fall, and from which they can be easily removed. The slabP may be rigidly attached to the frame A by bolts or other fastening devices, if desired.

One of the mold-supporting strips 0 is provided with a longitudinally adjustable stop Q. The stop Q preferably consists of a plate or arm having a longitudinal slot through which extends a suitable'pin or bolt, by which the stop is connected to the strip 0, and an arm g, which extends above and over the strip 0 into the path of the mold I. The stop is held at any desired position on the strip by means of a nut fitted on the pin carried by the strip and extending through the slot in the stop. As the mold is placed in position on the strips 0, its rear end contacts with the stop Q when the cells orcompartmentsthereof are in proper alignment with the plungers carried by the pressure-head E. By adjusting the stop Q longitudinally of the strip 0- the machine is adapted for use in connection with molds of different lengths. If desired,

each of the strips 0 may be provided with a stop Q.

The operation or m machine may be briefiystated as follows: The mold-supporting strips 0 are arranged the proper distance apart in View of the width of the mold to be placed thereon, and the stop Q properly adjusted with regard to the length of said mold. A mold containing plugs of tobacco is then placed in position, as indicated in the drawings, on strips 0, and by means of the lever K the pressure-head is depressed sufficiently to cause the plungers H to enter the cells or compartments of the mold and force theplugs therefrom. When pressure is removed from the lever K, the weights L operate to return the pressure-head and plungers to their normal elevated position, and the empty mold can be removed from the machine.

The plugs expelled from the mold fall on the slab P, from which they can be easily removed and placed in suitable receptacles.

From the foregoing description and the drawings it will be seen that I have provided a compact, strong, and easily-operated ma chine, by which all of the plugs of tobacco contained in a mold can be simultaneously expelled, and which is adapted for use in connection with molds of different sizes. By the use of my machine, also,there is no danger of breaking, tearing, or chipping the wrappers of the-plugs, which is a common occurrence in removing the plugs according to the methods at present in use.

The machine herein shown and described is particularly adapted for use in connection with the manufacture of what is known in the trade as export tobacco, although it can be advantageously used in connection with the manufacture of any kind of plug-tobacco.

Although I have shown and described my machine as adapted to be-operated by a hand lever, yet I do not wish to be understood as intending to. limit myself to any particular mechanism for rocking the shaft G. Such shaft may be connected with a foot'po-wer engine or any other suitable source of power.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for expelling pressed plugs of tobacco from a mold-frame, the combina tion with a mold-frame and suitable supporting means thereof, of a pressure-head, and plungers of different lengths carried by said head and arranged to enter cells or compartments in said mold-frame, whereby the long and short plungers are adapted to successively expelthe plugsof tobacco from their respective compartments as the pressure-head descends, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for expelling plugs of tobacco from a mold-frame, the combination with a mold-frame divided into bottomless compartmentsand: means for supporting said mold-frame,-of a reciprocating pressure-head carrying short plungers at its middle portion and longer plungers at its sides, for the purposes described, substantially as set forth.

Ice

3. In a machine for expelling plugs of tobaceo from a mold-frame, the combination with a suitable supporting frame, of upright guides rigid with said supporting frame, a pressure-head fitted in said guides to slide therein and carrying a series of plungers, the spaced bars between said upright guides and below the pressure head, a bottomless mold frame fitted on said bars, a counterbalanced rook-shaft journaled in the supporting frame, and links connecting said rock-shaft and the pressure-head, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for expelling plugs of tobacco from a mold frame, the combination with a suitable supporting frame, of the upright guides rigid with said supporting frame, a pressure-head fitted in said guides and carshaft, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM P. MAYO. Witnesses:

W. A. BYERLY, H. A. MoCURnY; 

